WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain on Wednesday said he planned to introduce legislation that would strike language included in a massive 2016 spending bill that eased a congressional ban on the use of Russian rocket engines.
McCain told a hearing on the issue that he and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy would introduce the legislation on Thursday, the first of many actions planned "to ensure we end our dependence on Russian rocket engines and stop subsidizing Vladimir Putin and his gang of corrupt cronies."
McCain vowed to do "everything in my power" to ban future use of the engines, which power the Atlas 5 rocket built by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp (N:LMT) and Boeing (N:BA) Co.